Tag Archives: ocean

On Impulse

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It wasn’t an impulse buy..you know those things that you pick up in the store that aren’t on your shopping list. They seem to be a good idea at the moment but then you get home and have  ‘buyer’s remorse”? No, it was nothing like that.

Rather it was a change of plans on impulse. It was a beautiful day, so nice it was hard to believe it was the middle of November. I was planning to take a drive to Newport, RI for the day to see what sights and scenes I could find for this space but when I saw how nice it was I got the urge to take a drive up to Maine. It’s a bit farther than Newport but still well within the “day trip” category.

I headed out a little after 10 am and gambled that the expressway through Boston would have cleared out by that time. Luckily I was right and I sailed though the former Big Dig with no hesitation!  

I had selected York, Maine as my destination, home of Nubble Light. It’s said that Nubble Light is one of the most often photographed light houses on the east coast but I just remember the area from my scuba diving days as being extremely pretty.

I pulled off the Highway into York shortly after noon. It had taken me a little more than 2 hours. As I drove through Boston it got really cloudy but here in Maine the sky was clear and a brilliant blue. So far I had remembered my way pretty well considering it’s been over 30 years since I’ve been here but now as I came off the highway my memory seemed to dissolve.

I had printed out directions before I left the house so after a quick check I found myself meandering from one small road to another. I passed alot of fields and some farm houses and then as I came around a corner I saw the sky stretch out before me. That’s when you know that even though you can’t see the ocean yet, it’s really just ahead. Sure enough, down into a little dip and then up to a stop sign and there was the Atlantic!

The beach stretched out before me and off in the distance was the light house gleaming a bright white in the mid day sun.

 I pointed the car along the beach road in the direction of the lighthouse. It looked like everything was closed up tight for the winter.

I found the turn off to Nubble Light. At the end was a fairly large parking area with the metered viewers. There is no access to the lighthouse itself. That sits on an island that is reached by a little cable car. The public is not welcome on the island. Trust me, you don’t need to be on the island to appreciate this quaint little lighthouse.

The parking lot was a busy place with visitors taking pictures with everything but the kitchen sink. It was easy to see how it got it’s reputation as the most photographed light. I decided to wait for sunset so headed back along the beach to see if I could find anyplace for lunch.

I was about to try to retace my steps to the main highway when I spotted a little restaurant that seemed to have a lot of cars in it’s lot. Not surprising being the only open place on the beach.

The Lobster Cove Restaurant looked small inside until I realized there was an upstairs too. The waitress told me to seat myself so of course I grabbed a tabe by the window so I could watch the ocean over my lunch of scallops and coleslaw…very excellent! The people that were coming in were from all over. I overheard one group telling the waitress they drove up from New Jersey, another couple was speaking french…probably Candians, bienvenue.

Lunch complete I drove back to Sohier Park. That’s the name of the park next to the lighthouse. As I mentioned the light house is on an Island. I think it’s called Cape Neddick. The whole area is lovely. There’s a huge building, probably an Inn sitting on another rocky point near the light house so I amused myself trying to cature the waves crashing on the rocks while I waited for the sun to go down.

The lighthouse is situated so that you are looking east. That put the setting sun behind me. I was hoping some clouds would roll in so that I might get some reflected sunset behind the light house but that was not to be today. I had to settle for a series of pictures of the changing light.

 In between I got some sunset shots by turning around and shooting to the west.

Finally as the last of the light was fading I turned my car toward home.

 The drive back was not as easy as the drive up. A Patriots Football game at the stadium in Foxboro, a Bruins Hockey game at the Garden in Boston and the early Thanksgiving Travelers clogged all of the road ways in and around Boston. My trip home was over 4 hours compared to the two it took me to get to Maine but it was definietly worth it.

Makapu’u Point

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With no place that we had to be, we relaxed a bit and slept in a little. ..Right… we were up at 8am! While we discussed what to do for the day, I suggested we go to Makapu’u Point Lighthouse. I had seen a Samantha Brown show on the Travel Channel where she said it was just a short, 5 minute hike from the road to fabulous ocean views. Sandy also likes lighthouses so it sounded like a nice way to start the day. I had also looked it up online and the articles there described it as a “moderate” hike.

We didn’t have any problem finding the turnoff and there was a large paved parking lot. The trail was also paved but closed to automobiles. We had hiking boots and some water but not a big supply. I was wearing a baseball cap but Sandy didn’t have a hat at all and no sunscreen. Now I want to go on record right here and now by saying that if your guide books say “bring water , a hat, good walking shoes and sunscreen“, follow their suggestions!

The trail immediately begins to climb so even though it’s paved, it quickly becomes a great aerobic workout. Of course even in 2007 both of us were on the wrong side of 50. In any case we really felt old when younger people began jogging by, one was even pushing a baby stroller and here we were sweating and huffing and puffing. When we met some of the runners returning before we made it to the top it became laughable!. They were very encouraging though and told us it would all be worth it.

PS. To Samantha Brown…it’s not 5 minutes, but more like an hour! The trail continued upward and then around a bend so we couldn’t see how much further we needed to go until we actually turned that corner. That might have been a good thing or we may have bailed out!

Once around the corner we started to get the breeze from the trade winds. There was also a spot to stop and rest, sitting on the stone wall. The views here were wonderful and there was the lighthouse. It’s a really cute lighthouse, all white with a red roof. It made a terrific picture with the deep blue of the ocean behind it. The area of the ocean we were looking over is part of the whale sanctuary. The whales arrive in November and stay until spring having their calves in the safety of these warm waters. Since we were there in October they hadn’t arrived yet but it was easy to imagine sitting there and watching the whales blow and breach.


After sitting for a bit we felt like we’d recovered and we could see the end of the trail and the lookout platforms. So with a deep breath we started the last bit of our climb and we made it!

As we explored the lookouts and platforms we found a marker that referred to a plane crash in World War II. On Easter Sunday – four months after Pearl Harbor-2 planes on routine patrol lost there way “in rain, clouds, and darkness”. One crashed here at Makapu’u Point the other at the Pali Lookout where we had visited earlier in the week. I searched the internet but did not find much information about these planes but I have placed a link at the bottom of this post in case anyone would like more information.

We took a lot of pictures because the views were everything we’d been promised. The small Island we could see from the lookout platform is called Rabbit Island. We could also see Sea Life Park which was our next stop for the afternoon. The views were certainly worth the climb.

Having thoroughly explored the top and having run out of water quite awhile ago, we wrapped up our visit and headed back down to the car. The journey down was much easier than the one going up!

In subsequent research I learned that the trail is 2.5 miles and 1 ½ – 2 hours for the round trip. The elevation is 600 ft. We certainly got our exercise that morning!
　
　
　

　
http://archives.starbulletin.com/2007/04/04/news/story08.html

The Hot Weather is Here!

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Oh happy summer! The hot weather is here and I couldn’t be happier. I love this kind of weather. Even the humidity is ok as long as I don’t have to go to work. I feel a little different on work days because as much as I love the heat I don’t like going to work feeling like I need another shower. But on a day when I am free and clear and don’t have to worry about appearances there’s nothing better than working up a nice “sheen.” Always remember, horses sweat….ladies perspire.

Now that’s not to say I never use air conditioning. I do, especially in the car on the way to work but on a day off its open windows all the way. At home  I leave the central air on 80 and use the ceiling fans. As long as the air is moving I’m comfortable.

But I’m getting off track. I wanted to mention Nantasket Beach in Hull, Ma.

When I first moved to Massachusetts back in the early 1970’s Nantasket Beach was the place to go on a hot summer day. It wasn’t just the beach either. There was a substantial amusement park with a huge roller coaster. The amusement park was known as Paragon Park. Sadly the park closed in 1984 and the roller coaster was removed along with most of the other rides but the vintage carousel is still in action. One of the things I love about the Paragon Park carousel is that it’s all about the horses.

 Prancing steeds in all colors are just begging for a rider. Teams of spirited horses pull flying chariots if you’re prefer this kind of ride, but it’s all horses.

 There’s none of the elephants, giraffes or big cats with saddles like you see on so many other carousels. It’s just horses of all colors with flying manes and tossing heads.

 Well, at least they look like that even if they are made of wood.

 It’s wonderful what the imagination can see so of course the first stop was the carousel. I had to see it again.

 Then I headed over to the beach. The band stands are still there but I wasn’t looking for that. I wanted to see the beach. Too bad I came at high tide. Even so I waded out to about mid-calf only to get drenched by a breaking wave that hit me almost waist-high. I was amazed at how warm the water was but Nantasket Beach it shallow quite a ways out so the water has time to warm up.

To get to this little gem of a beach you follow Rt 228 as it winds through Rockland, Weymouth, Hingham and finally Hull. It’s a very scenic ride , especially the section after you cross RT 53  but be sure to wear your patience hat as it is a winding road, not a highway. As with any winding road, traffic can be a problem especially on a hot weekend day. But I was there on a mid-week afternoon so traffic wasn’t bad. There was even parking in some of the lots once I got to the beach. 

There is a small parking fee but I think as parking fees go that it’s pretty reasonable. $7.00 for the day $4.00 for seniors. I’m not sure what age they consider senior. The first lot I tried was full but retracing my route to the beginning of the beach I pulled into the first lot on the beach. Not only was there plenty of parking but there was no attendant! When no one came to take my money after a reasonable time, I pulled on into the parking lot.

Nantasket Beach was always known for its soft , gray sand. Here on the lower end of the beach the sand was courser and there were a lot of rocks. Still I saw several sand castles being built and everyone seemed to be having a great time. I spotted one of those surf paddlers…that new sport of standing on a surfboard and paddling it instead of surfing. Lots of people were in the water.

There were lines at all of the ice cream stands.

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 It looked like a perfect summer day. So many people making awesome memories. I could have stayed for hours but unfortunately for me responsibilities called and I had to drive away to meet them in the real world.

Roaming Around Marshfield

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Leaving the Sanctuary, I hopped back on RT 139 and headed toward the coast. One of my friends had suggested I check out the Marshfield coast and beach area for photo opportunities.

It was getting late so I stopped for lunch at Gerard’s Turkey farm. Just a quick Turkey sandwich and back on the road. When I pulled up along the sea wall it was apparent that I wasn’t the only person who was enjoying a lunch or snack in their car while watching the surf.

Once I finished my lunch I hopped out and took the stairs down to the water. Sea gulls soared over head and waves crested and crashed . The colors were amazing. Another gentleman called down to me about how pretty it was today! He had a point and shoot and was trying to capture the view as well. My guess is that his pictures will be just as good as mine. Point and Shoots do a great job for this type of photography as I learned when I took one to Hawaii.

Here on the water the breeze was brisk and had a cold edge to it. I climbed back up and decided to drive around a little bit to see what else might be in the area. I found the Green Harbor Marina and a quaint little stone church.

I headed back to the sea wall as it was approaching sunset and I thought I might get a good picture. Unfortunately the sea wall itself blocked the rays from the setting sun putting the water in shadow. Seeing that I sat for awhile just listening to the waves crashing and watching people feed the gulls.

I finally roused myself to head home. It’s times like this that remind me why I love living close to the ocean. I couldn’t have been more relaxed if I’d just come from a $100 spa treatment. It’s the whole experience, the sun, the sounds, the smells. Here in Marshfield the sea smell was crisp and salty. I’ve been some places where rotting sea weed makes the shore stink at low tide but there was none of that here today.

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As I headed into the west I watched the sunset spread soft , muted pastels today…no fiery red sky. A fitting end to a wonderful day.